Ben Richards is The Bodyguard

Hollyoaks star and musical theatre regular Ben Richards is to release his inner secret serviceman as he joins Beverley Knight in the London theatre return of hit musical The Bodyguard.

Richards will take the titular role of Frank Farmer in the Whitney Houston tunefest when it plays at the West End’s Dominion Theatre from 15 July to 7 January.

Though Richards is well known for TV dramas including The Bill and Footballers’ Wives, he has a host of musical theatre credits to his name, including Guys And Dolls, Grease, Saturday Night Fever and Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical.

The Bodyguard, which is based on the Oscar-nominated film starring Houston and Kevin Costner, sees Richards playing a former secret service agent turned bodyguard hired to protect global superstar singer Rachel Marron from a stalker. While both Farmer and Marron expect to be in charge, neither expect to fall in love.

The production, directed by Thea Sharrock, features a plethora of Houston’s timeless hits, including Queen Of The Night, One Moment In Time, I Wanna Dance With Somebody and I Will Always Love You.

The Bodyguard opens at the Dominion following the current production The War Of The Worlds, which uses a live on stage orchestra, projection, dancers, numerous lights and a cast of well-known names to bring Jeff Wayne’s cult album to the stage.